Thirteen's Elite
by Xada91
Summary: Jade Chan became the leader of Section 13 prior to Dragos first attack on the world. She left him in the past to erase the pain he caused her. His actions in the past altered the future. Now he's back and he has a few remnants of his family to show her.
1. Prisoner: The Return

A/N: I may be taking on way too many fics at once. I am pretty sure this will cause me to crash and burn but whatever.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Thirteen's Elite

Part 1: Prisoner

Theme: Cosmic Castaway

Chapter 1: The Return

* * *

Jade Chan followed the steady beeps from her watch. She turned from one direction to another to insure that it was working correctly. No matter what Jimmy said, anything involving magic tended to break at the worst possible time. A massive amount of dark chi definitely warranted caution from anyone. Considering her past, a little extra caution was all but expected. However, she was still Jade Chan, and her attitude had not changed much over the years. As such she had come to this lonely place on her own. In the waning light she began to consider that she might have been mistaken. The watch had been steadily focused in this direction, leading her south to the junkyard. Old memories were dragged up from when she was a kid. And a few from more recent years. The bizarre state the world had entered when Drago and Shendu were banished had somehow left a duplicate set of Talismans sitting in the vault at Section 13. Alongside them three of the Oni masks had returned as well. She was mystified as to how that made any form of sense whatsoever but was too preoccupied with trying to keep the world from falling apart. Due to her knowledge of magic, and her close connection with the events that caused the change, she retained her memories of the future with Shendu as well as the one she and her family created when the demon was sent to the Netherworld. _Demons_, she reminded herself with a growl. Drago was gone for good; she no longer had to worry about him. The problem was she remembered their relationship before he went ballistic. Before he discovered that she had his father on lockdown. Then there was the whole time travel incident, leaving him in the past. She had hoped that would erase the pain he caused but all she accomplished was make him another monster from her childhood. That tore her up inside more than anything else. She had memories of everything he did to her and her family in the distant past. But she also had memories of what he did _for_ her and her family in the past that never was. She was brought out of her thoughts when the watch began beeping even more loudly before sparking and fizzling out.

"That proves it, this thing couldn't find dark chi if it-" She was cut of by a thunderclap accompanied by a red burst of energy. The trash around the blast was smoldering, the metal sparking and glowing red-hot. In the center of the blast radius was a form hidden by shadows. She couldn't be sure, but anything with enough dark chi to blow her watch could not be friendly. She drew her gun and leveled it at whatever had appeared in front of her. "Freeze!" She commanded while ignoring the shiver the thing gave her.

"You never learn do you?" His growling voice asked playfully. He struggled to his feet, holding his abdomen with one arm. "Magic must defeat-"

"Magic…" She finished her voiced trembling subtly. _No._ It could not be him, he was banished, erased. He didn't even look like she remembered. In fact, he looked like _she _remembered last. "No." She tightened her grip to keep the gun from shaking. "You can't be here!" She all but screamed at the demon before her.

"Whatever you want." He moaned before turning to walk away. She could not let him escape. There was no telling what he could do if allowed to run free.

"Freeze!" She yelled again. He paused and glanced at her over his shoulder. His eyes were hidden by the glare of the sunset. She was not sure how he would be looking at her. Like he used to or like he _used_ to. She was not even sure which she was more afraid of. "Don't move!" She forced the strain from her voice.

"Do what you have to Kitty." He said before continuing. He stumbled after a few steps and fell to one knee, coughing dryly. Jade stood her ground, knowing full well his family's tendency to trick others. After a few coughs that nearly became dry heaves he managed to stand. Without looking back once he made his way, stumbling and coughing towards the exit to the junkyard. Another coughing fit hit him like a truck, dropping him to his knees and one hand, the other clasped around his abdomen tightly. He made to stand again but his legs completely failed him and he dropped to the ground with a groan.

"Get up." Jade muttered, more to herself than anyone else. "Get up." She would not shoot him while he was lying on the ground like that. It was already too painful and too enticing. "Get up!" She demanded of the demonic dragon. She heard his ragged breathing even from so far away. "Damn it." She cursed him harshly, not caring about the irony in those words. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number few knew about. "I need a van." She demanded of the man that answered. She gave the address and hung up before he could ask any questions. "If you get me fired or killed I will shoot you." She kept her gun trained on his prone form, staying well out of reach and behind him. When he did not move for several minutes she began too hope and fear that he was dead. A sudden, painful sounding coughing fit broke her hopes and relieved her fears. She tried to tell herself that she only kept from shooting him out of her sense of honor; that she had not shot him on sight due to his value as a prisoner. She only wished that she knew if she could convince herself. She gritted her teeth in anger. "You're a real bastard Drago." She growled at the barely conscious demon. She heard him mutter something. "What?"

"You sound like my dad." He managed before another fit overtook him.


	2. Prisoner: The Awakening

A/N: Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Thirteen's Elite

Part 1: Prisoner

Theme: Paint it Black, by GOB

Chapter 2: The Awakening

* * *

As he regained consciousness the dragon took stock of himself. Cold. He felt cold for one of the few times since the manifestation. He was hungry but that had become a fact of his existence. He was in pain but he had become accustomed to agony. He forced his eyes open; blinking through the new pain the bright light brought him. As his vision cleared he began to make out a very familiar room. Bizarrely, his only thought was that Section 13 had redecorated. Looking to his left he saw the sleeping form of Jade Chan draped onto a chair. He wondered what her role was since the time-break. When she trapped him in the past, she had been the leader of Section 13. He had heard from the past Chans that the Jade of now had been demoted to a desk job. After he was banished there was no telling what effect it had on her. She had clearly remembered him, and not just from her childhood. He knew it was harder for humans to adapt to time-breaks than demons. Hell, it was hard enough for him to do so. Admittedly he did not have to live through the same event altered slightly. Because he was banished, he simply had memories of being banished after the time travel. She however, must have memories of meeting him for the first time in both pasts. His personal time-line was blessedly linear without doubling back on itself too much.

"If you try to escape I'll shoot you." A gruff voice growled from the doorway. Red eyes locked with brown ones for a moment. Drago stared at one of the few humans to ever earn his respect outside the Chan family. Captain Black wore his traditional black coat over his red shirt and black pants. He was as bald as Drago remembered and sported a short goatee. "As soon as we don't think you're going to die, I'm placing you in Solitary." Drago glanced at the sleeping woman before looking at the ceiling.

"Might as well kill me now, save us all the trouble." He muttered tiredly. He allowed his eyes to drift shut again, whatever retort the captain had lost to him as he faded from consciousness. His dreams were filled with images of his past. Working with and against the Chans. Helping them and trying to enslave and kill them. The manifestation played over and over again in his mind. As did when he learned the truth about his father. Hours after he had spoken with Captain Black, he was awoken by the smell of food. His eyes once again blinked open, this time confronted by the sight of a tube going into his arm. Around his wrists were metal cuffs, a short length of chain attaching them to each other and the bed he was on. He reached to pull the tube out, ignoring the burning sensation jostling the needle brought.

"I wouldn't do that." Jade said from her chair. He turned his head to look at her. She was eating a large cheeseburger while ignoring the fries and drink that had come with it. When he saw the bag he chuckled weakly.

"Hail to the king?" She didn't exactly smile, but she stopped scowling at him.

"Always." He began to laugh again but it quickly degenerated to a coughing fit. "What happened? Did you come back to screw with the time-line again?"

"My memory must be fuzzy; I seem to remember you doing that." He replied sharply. "Dad and I had a…argument. Well, me and his siblings. He just took the excuse to put the blame on me."

"So you came here?" She took another bite of her burger. He glared at the tube in his arm. "What happened to you? You look…"

"Like I used to?" He let out a strange noise, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "A small side effect of the spell I used to get here." She tensed when he mentioned the spell.

"Something your family could use to escape?"

"Don't worry about those demons. I only escaped because I don't have a portal to seal me." He struggled to sit up, finally yanking the tube from his arm. "You going to call the captain?"

"Why would I do that?"

"He said when I was safe from dying he was sending me to Solitary." He looked down at the cuffs on his wrists.

"Right." She pulled out her phone and dialed the captain's number. "Captain Black? The dragon's awake. Okay." A few minutes later several armed men entered the room. They stood in the room for a minute before a commotion outside caught their attention.

"Out of Uncle's way! How can Uncle look at young dragon if guards are in Uncle's way?" A very distinctive voice yelled from the hallway. "Out!" The men filed out sheepishly to reveal an elderly Chinese man and Captain Black.

"Uncle, are you sure we shouldn't wait for Jackie?" The captain asked eyeing Drago suspiciously. The old man smacked him in the head with two fingers. "Ow."

"Uncle has Jade. What could go wrong?"

"You want a list?" He asked, making Jade smile embarrassedly. Drago growled lowly at the man's words.

"Watch it baldy." He said through gritted teeth. Uncle pulled a chair up to the bed, keeping a safe distance from the dragon. He stared into Drago's eyes until the dragon broke the eye contact.

"Dragon is broken." The old man said thoughtfully. "Dark chi less abundant. Light chi waking up inside dragon. Demon chi was burned up when you crossed into this world. Very ancient, good magic." Drago stared at his clawed hands.

"Well aren't we clever?" He muttered to himself.


	3. Prisoner: The Lockup

A/N: Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Thirteen's Elite

Part 1: Prisoner

Theme: Paint it Black, by GOB

Chapter 3: The Lockup

* * *

"Uncle must do research on dragon; figure out why he wishes for self-destruction." The old man stood and faced Captain Black. "Get Jimmy! He and Tohru must help Uncle!" He yelled, making his way down the hallway.

"Men, get this…thing down to Solitary." The captain commanded as he followed the old wizard. "Jade, go find Jimmy." The young woman stood to follow. She paused and looked back at the demon as the soldiers placed more chains on him. She watched as they carried him in the opposite direction Uncle and Captain Black had gone. _Self-destruction?_ That didn't sound like the Drago from either set of memories. Depressed sure, angry almost constantly, but self-destructive? No matter what set of memories he occupied, he always seemed eternally confident. He seemed to think he was untouchable, that the world held no consequences for him. Due to his father's identity, that was all but expected. Almost as much as Drago breathing fire at anything that annoyed him. But for him to seem so…broken, disturbed her more than the nightmares he had given her. She shook her head to clear away these thoughts. The dragon's mental state was not her concern at the moment. Right now she had to find Jimmy so he, Uncle, and Tohru could figure out what happened to Drago. _Figure out how dangerous he is._ She corrected with a frown. _He's not the friendly guy you remember. He's the fire-breathing demon _you_ remember. _She made her way to what used to be Kepler's lab, Jimmy having taken over when Kepler was moved to Section 14. Sure enough, she found him working on her watch, a screwdriver in one hand and another gripped in his teeth.

"Jimmy." She called to him from the doorway. He glanced at her with a welcoming smile.

"Hey Jade, I'm almost done with the detector." He said around the screwdriver.

"Cool, Captain Black wants you to help Uncle and Tohru with some research." She pulled the tool from his mouth when he tried to answer. "Now."

"Our guest?" He asked, putting the tools down and shrugging on his uniform's jacket.

"Yeah." They walked towards the other lab, the one reserved for less conventional work. The kind that had come to define Section 13. They passed Jade's apartment, the one she had lived in since she was a child. She pulled the door shut with an irritated noise. As they continued passed it she ignored the creak it made as it reopened. _Stupid door._ She thought wit a mental shrug. It only stayed closed when locked, something she was not fond of doing when outside.

"You do know I can fix that right?" Jimmy said with a confident grin. Jade shot him a sarcastic look.

"Aren't you the one that broke it in the first place?" His confident grin changed to a sheepish smile.

"You asked me to make it soundproof." He countered, causing her to lift an eyebrow.

"I didn't mean shoot it with magic and blow it off its hinges." She retorted as they walked into the lab.

"Enough dillydally! Jimmy must call Tohru so we can do research!" Uncle yelled from a table covered in scrolls and books.

"Don't worry Uncle, Jimmy can help you and I'll call T." She waved her friend over to her relative. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number to Uncle's Rare Finds. She tapped her fingers on the table impatiently until he answered. "Tohru? Yeah, Uncle needs you to help him and Jimmy do some research. Yeah, it's about _him_. Okay, I'll tell them." She ended the call and turned to the two men, crossing her arms to fight the cold of the room. "Tohru says it'll be a minute, he has to close the shop."

"Ex-apprentice is slow! His apprentice not experienced enough to help Uncle!" He yelled, causing Jimmy to frown. "Tohru learned through experience, Jimmy learning through studies. Much harder." He finished, in his own way comforting the younger man.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence." Jimmy pulled one of the books to himself carefully. "What are we looking for Uncle?"

"We must look for demons with light chi. May have answers for why Drago seeks to destroy himself." Jade's arms tightened subconsciously at the old man's words. "Jade!" Uncle yelled, startling his relative. "Are you lump on log? Help with research!" She smiled at the slight distraction from her thoughts. She sat next to Jimmy and poured over the ancient texts. After thirty minutes Jade was ready to give up.

"When is Tohru getting here?" She grumbled to herself raising her hand in an attempt to block uncle's 'finger' strike. She avoided the first one but was hit by the second. "Ow."

"I am here Jade." The large Japanese man's voice came from the doorway.

"Finally! Well guys, it's been fun but I'm gonna go do something else." She made her to the door but was stopped by Uncle's voice.

"Jade must check on Drago. See what he is doing." The old man said without looking up at his young relative. Jade gave him an odd stare before nodding silently. She exited the room without another word. She knew the way to Solitary. When she was the leader of Section 13 she had added a new level for more…extreme criminals. She also had a good idea of where in that level he was being held. She entered one of the three elevators able to go to Solitary. As the doors closed she felt like the world was pressing in on her. She didn't want to talk with the dragon. If anything, she wanted to shoot him. She sighed as the doors opened. The walk to Drago's cell was too short for her. When she reached his cell's door she took a moment to brace herself. The cell was made of solid steel, reinforced with several spells of Uncle's design. There was very little chance of Drago doing a repeat performance of his last escape. She swiped her id card and entered her personal code. The outer door slid open to reveal the 'visitor's area,' a small section of the cell separated from the cell itself by magically reinforced, bullet-proof glass. Inside the cell, the dragon lay on his bed, arms crossed behind his head.

"Kitty." He greeted quietly.

"I told you not to call me that." She replied darkly.

"You used to like the nickname."

"That was before you tried to take over the world."

"Because you lied to me!" He growled, slamming his fists into the glass. She blinked in surprise. She did not remember him standing up, much less walking to the glass.

"How did I lie to you?" She asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"My father." His fist spread until his palm was pressed against the glass. She looked at it instead of into his eyes. "You never once told me you had him here. You said he was dead."

"I said he had been destroyed. I never said he hadn't come back." She closed her eyes against the burn of tears. "I was afraid you'd become like him." His hand slid down the wall slowly, his claws trailing sparks in their wake. She finally met his scarlet eyes as he leaned his head against the glass.

"You know what the worst part is?" He asked quietly. She shook her head. "You were right."


	4. Agent: The Remembrance

A/N: Okay, because I cannot find anything on when J2 and J2 Revised take place, I'm assuming Jade is twenty-five when those take place. So in this she is twenty-seven. Tell me if you know when they actually do take place.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Thirteen's Elite

Part 2: Agent

Theme: Psycho, by Puddle of Mudd

Chapter 4: The Remembrance

* * *

Jade sat on her bed, hugging her legs to her chest. His words echoed in her head repeatedly. _You were right._ He didn't say it but the meaning was there. She had made him into a monster. If she had told him the truth. If she had just tried harder. She whimpered into her knees. Now that she was here, alone in her room with the door locked, she allowed herself to cry. She cried because of all the crap they had put each other through. She cried for the pain her decisions had caused countless people over the years. Everything, the age of dragons, the hunt for the demon chi, all of it was her fault. If he had known about his father from the start, if he knew why they had the demon locked up, then maybe things would be different. She hugged her legs tighter as sobs racked her body.

Several levels below, the dragon that was the focus of her thoughts sat on his bed. He leaned his elbows on his knees, his head held in his hands. He should not have said that to her. He did not blame her for his actions, not as much as he used to. It was not right for him to make her suffer like that. No matter how good it felt to do so. He sometimes forgot how much of a soulless monster he was. Then he would find himself doing something like this. He had not always been this way. He used to be a relatively caring creature. He used to be able to treat others with respect and some form of common decency. Even before his father's family had forced the old dragon to seal Drago away, he had started becoming more and more bitter. He remembered when he had first told Jade about that incident.

* * *

_Four years ago…_

* * *

"Really?" Jade said sarcastically, looking at the dragon dubiously. "You said that to Po Kong?" He grinned at her.

"She shouldn't have tried to eat me." He chuckled, not missing the way she smiled at him. "So I lit her big green butt on fire." She burst into a laughing fit which he was quick to join.

"Not that we're not fascinated by stories of your childhood Drago, but you two do have work to do." Captain Black called from the door to the cafeteria.

"Aw, we were just getting to the best part." The dragon whined with a mocking grin.

"Tell her on the way. The Monkey King's been released again."

"What? Why do people keep pulling his leg? Can't we just burn him or something?" Jade complained as the two followed the captain.

"You know the rules, magic-"

"Must defeat magic. Hello, dragon's breathe is magic." She pointed at Drago. He grabbed her wrist and moved the offending finger from his face. "Sorry." She flashed him a brief smile before turning back to their boss, missing the light blush that reached his features. He silently thanked the fact that he had green skin to hide it.

"Look, this is your last year as agents. Then you're being promoted to my position Jade."

"I know. How's Section 14 coming anyway?" They entered the phone booth elevator. Drago leaned against the back wall, watching Jade's…back.

"Just fine, you do realize it's not going to be all fun and games once you have my job." She smiled confidently.

"Please, I've got dragon-breathe here to back me up. What could go wrong?" Drago chuckled at that. "What?"

"Why do I have to back you up?" He grinned at the frown she shot him.

"What, you mean you won't?" She pouted slightly. The embarrassed expression he wore at that caused her to laugh again. He gritted his teeth through the smile that threatened to erupt on his face. His pride would not allow him to humor her in that way. No matter how cute she was.

"What did you mean we won't be agents anymore? I'm not being promoted." He asked, ignoring the taunting look his partner shot him.

"No, but since she's the only one you don't threaten to fry, you're going to be her bodyguard." The captain led them to a black van parked outside the phone booth.

"Trust me; she does _not_ need a bodyguard." He rubbed his right arm subconsciously.

"I know, but we really don't have anything else to do with you." Captain Black looked at his two best agents. One a reckless yet talented young woman he had watched grow up, the other a dangerous dragon his oldest friend had awakened from a centuries-long hibernation. As always, he wondered how these two were his best. "Take care you two."

"You want a souvenir?" Jade quipped, much to the dragon's amusement. With a sigh, the captain closed the door to the van.

"I think that's a maybe." Drago said with a smirk. They sat in silence for a while as the van thundered down the roads.

"So?" Jade asked, leaning against Drago's arm.

"What?" He asked, looking anywhere but at her.

"What happened next?" She laughed at the confused look he gave her. "Your story?"

"Oh yeah." He frowned in thought for a moment. "Well, after the green mountain put the fire out, by rolling around, she was kind of upset." He looked at her oddly when she laughed. "Yeah, it sounds funny until you're running for your life because your giant aunt is rolling after you." He looked disturbed for a moment before shaking his head. "Anyway, after that she called the other demon sorcerers. Hsi Wu thought it was hilarious. Dad, not so much. The other sorcerers said 'the impudent one must be punished.'" He said with a very mocking impersonation of Tso Lan, even holding his arms like the moon demon.

"What did they do?" Jade asked, placing a hand on his knee. He froze for a moment before continuing.

"Well, they forced my old man to seal me away in that statue." He said with a shrug.

* * *

Jade leaned her head against her headboard, tears flowing down her face freely. She could not get either of the last times she saw him out of her head. One was filled with relief and joy at the monster being banished for what she thought was forever. The other was bitter sweet, knowing she had freed the future but still aching from what had happened between them. And what played in her mind the most was when they had first met.

* * *

_Seven years ago…_

* * *

Jade was ecstatic. As soon as this expedition with her uncle Jackie was over she was going to officially join Section 13. This was the culmination of her entire childhood, ever since she first came to America. She smiled to herself and nearly tripped on an outlying ledge. She grabbed onto a statue to catch herself. She gasped when she felt the statue move under her weight. With a loud cracking noise she fell with the statue down the stone stairs. She laid at the bottom for a stunned moment. When she tried to move she hissed in pain. Her ankle was definitely sprained, that was immediately apparent. She looked to where the statue had fallen. She could not make out its features clearly. It had fangs, claws and a tail that was all she could make out. That and a steadily growing crack in its forehead. She swallowed nervously. When Jackie heard about this he would be very annoyed. She frowned when the crack continued to spread. Surely if the statue was going to shatter, it would have done so by now. Then its arm moved, the stone cracking and crumbling as it did so. She did not need her family's history with magic to recognize it when she saw it. With a ferocious roar the creature ripped the stone shell from its body. What was left in place of the statue was a green creature she could only describe as a dragon. The creature laid there, panting heavily for a moment. It looked at her with curious, red eyes.

"Hello?" She said nervously, smiling despite herself. The creature responded in some, bizarre language that sounded familiar. She greeted him in Chinese, hoping that would help. He looked confused at her dialect.

"Jade?" A panicked voice called from atop the stairs. The creature rolled to his feet, clearly unsettled by her uncle's voice.

"Down here." She said, just loudly enough for the man to hear her. She hoped the dragon would not panic and breathe fire at her. She was in no position to dodge if he did so. "I found a dragon." She said with a cautious smile. The dragon seemed to calm down at this slightly. Jackie made his way slowly down the stairs until he saw the creature.

"Jade. Explain."


	5. Agent: The Memory

A/N: Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Thirteen's Elite

Part 2: Agent

Theme: Psycho, by Puddle of Mudd

Chapter 5: The Memory

Drago held his abdomen as another coughing fit overtook him. This was much lighter than the others. The dragon was thankful for that, his life was hard enough as it is. As he regained control of his breathing his thoughts turned back to his last mission as an agent of Section 13.

"Do we really have to do this?" He asked, knowing it was useless. Jade nudged hi lightly, wary of the building's edge. Neither of them wanted to fall to the London street below. "I mean, what's the point? They're just going to get stolen again."

"I'd figure a dragon would want to keep an eye on the Dragon Talisman." She shot back as she watched the thief make his way into the museum. She smirked when he vanished. "Careful Drago, there's a snake in the grass."

"Oh very funny." He looked down at the street below. "And how do you expect us to get there before he robs the place blind?"

"When in Rome." She said as she tossed a small piece of stone to him. He looked at the stylized rabbit on the talisman. "Rabbit plus rooster equals flight." She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the air.

"Jade, are you nuts?" He panicked for a moment.

"Calm down, I've gotcha. Now put that little bunny to work." He sighed as his fist tightened on the talisman.

"You're going to be the death of me." He said as they flew across the street within seconds. They landed on the roof, much to Drago's annoyance. "And now we're two floors above where we need to be."

"Stop complaining and help me move this." She snapped at him. She was standing next tot one of the skylights, attempting to open it. The dragon made his way casually to her. "Hurry up." He grinned and easily forced the skylight open.

"Why do these open?" He asked as he prepared to drop down.

"In case they can't fit an exhibit through the doors or elevators."

"Ah." And with that he dropped noiselessly through the skylight to the floor below. He looked around for a moment, insuring no one had seen him. When he was satisfied he gave a short, low whistle. Jade used the Rooster Talisman to float to the floor gently. "Showoff." She smiled at him as they made their way to the stairs. "What is this guy after anyway? I mean, he has some of the talismans, what else does he need?"

"According to legend, the Druk Dragon gives its holder the power to control thunder. Or, something like that."

"Yeah? Tell that to Tchang Zu." The dragon muttered under his breathe. He shot his partner a look. "And you've been spending too much time with Jackie." She laughed lightly at his remark.

"Maybe. He says he was like-" She was cut off my the sound of an explosion. They looked at each other before running to a window on the stairway. A large amount of smoke was billowing from the front of the building. A dark figure darted out of the smoke, something held in his arms.

"Okay, shortcut." Drago said before diving out the window. He landed on a car in the parking lot, it's alarm blaring once before dying. He leapt up and chased after the thief.

"Showoff." Jade muttered before pulling out the talismans. She floated in the air before darting after her partner. For his part, Drago was being all but subtle. As she came close to him he fired another burst of fire from his mouth. "Hey hothead."

"You call for backup?" He asked, leaping into traffic to follow the thief.

"Kind of busy!" She nearly grabbed the thief, only for him to turn and unleash a burst of fire at her. She dodged quickly, dropping the Rooster Talisman.

"Jade!" The dragon leapt over an old lady's car to snatch Jade in mid fall. "You good?" He asked as he placed her on her feet.

"Yeah." She held up the Rabbit Talisman. "Get him, I've got to find the Rooster." She tossed him the talisman. He nodded and dashed after the thief. He chased him all the way to a train station before the thief turned to face him.

"You and the girl are quite annoying." He said quietly.

"Yeah, she get's like that when people steal from the vault." He and the thief began circling each other.

"So who are you?"

"Call me Drago." He shot a stream of fire from his mouth. To his surprise the thief simply stood there and took the fire. "Right, horse and dog." He muttered to himself.

"Not bad, allow me!" He held out the Dragon Talisman, shooting a fireball of his own at Drago. He laughed and swatted the fire away from himself, his eyes glowing red.

"Trust me, you won't get anywhere that way." The thief held up the Druk Dragon. "Yes, its very pretty."

"Why thank you." The stone dragon's eyes glowed as it wrapped itself around the thief's arm. "Try this on for size." A bolt of lightening shot out at Drago. The dragon held up the Rabbit Talisman for him to see before easily dodging the bolt. The thief shot several bolts at him, essentially creating a wall of lightening. "You're quite good at this."

"Yeah, one of my uncles liked to do this." He said while dodging yet another bolt. "So, what's the downside to that thing?"

"What downside? With the Druk Dragon I have the limitless power of lightening!"

"Oh, magic always has a downside." Drago said from the thief's left. He leapt and crashed his foot into the man's side, knocking him to the ground. "For example, the twelve talismans give their users godlike power. But they are made of stone, and thus not unbreakable."

"Thank you for the lessen!" Drago was flung back by burst of energy from the man's eyes. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way." He picked up the Rabbit Talisman from where Drago had dropped it.

"I don't think so." Jade called from atop the train station. "Please hand over the talismans. And the dragon."


	6. Agent: The Beginning

A/N: Don't worry, Drago's last mission as an agent has not been forgotten. It will be finished. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Thirteen's Elite

Part 2: Agent

Theme: Psycho, by Puddle of Mudd

Chapter 6: The Beginning

Jade's mind was a virtual storm of emotions as she sat on her bed, her tears having run out long ago. She finally sighed in defeat. She knew of two ways to correct her mistakes, both of which would most likely have a similar result to her last time traveling adventure. One of them had a chance of working, but the thought of rewriting the past for her personal gain felt…wrong. The mere thought was so far out of the question that she felt physically ill. Still, the question was always there. At what point had she begun to lie to him? When had she stopped being his friend, and become his parole officer? She supposed they had lied to him from the start. Ever since they learned his identity they had kept the truth from him. Her mind drifted back to that first day…

Jade sat on the stone steps while her uncle called Section 13. The dragon was watching her with curious, albeit untrusting eyes. She did not blame him for his suspicions. If she were to wake up in a strange place with weird creatures, she would most likely…react like she did when she awoke in the Demon Netherworld. Basically panic before curiosity overcame her fear. From the look of things, the dragon seemed to be having a similar reaction to her. The language barrier, while adding a new layer of confusion, was probably for the best. She frowned as she thought about his language. At first he had seemed to be speaking some form of Chinese. When she had not responded easily, he had switch to some other, darker language. For some reason, the mere sound of its words disturbed her. It brought up memories of shadows and demons. She had heard something like it when she and her family had been sealing away the Demon Sorcerers. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of stones dropping to the floor. She looked at the dragon as he held three stones in his hands. He tossed one them from one to another, steadily building a rhythm. Soon, he was juggling the stones. He tossed them higher and higher. When it took them more than ten seconds to fall back to him, he began to move with the rhythm. After a moment, Jade realized he was going through a martial arts routine. He made several combinations of punches, blocks, and kicks. All while juggling the stones, sometimes using his feet and tail to do so. She laughed in delight, startling him. He blinked at her and paused long enough for the stones to clatter to the floor. He looked at her, seeming self-conscious now that he knew she had been watching him.

"That was great." She said with warm smile, suddenly aware of how dangerous he looked. He had spikes coming from his elbows and atop his head. His tail looked strong enough to break her bones. The claws on his feet and hands looked capable of tearing her to pieces. And the teeth he displayed when he returned her smile- _Smile? _She blinked at him. He seemed unsure, but he was indeed smiling at her. Her smile returned at this. _Success! _She thought triumphantly.

"Jade? Captain Black will be here in an hour to pick us up." Jackie called softly, more wary of the dragon than his niece seemed to be. "And the dragon." He added at the look she gave him. They spent the following hour watching the dragon, who in turn watched them. He eventually seemed to grow bored with this and lay against a wall to sleep. Jade smiled at him as he did so.

"He's kind of cute."

"Please tell me you mean cute like a puppy and not the other way." Jackie said with a cringe as his phone rang. His niece shuddered at his words.

"That's just…wrong." She muttered darkly.

"Okay, Captain Black is here." He said, helping his niece to her feet. They both froze when the dragon's eyes snapped open. He looked around the room before his gaze settled on them. Something was different about the way he looked at them. He seemed more aware, more intelligent than he had been before. Almost as though sleeping had rebooted his mind. He stood at his full height, for the first time standing like a man and not an animal. He looked at Jade with calculating eyes.

"Drago." He said simply, pressing a hand to his chest.

"Okay, dragon just got really smart." She pressed a hand to her chest, taking a tentative step forward. "Jade." She said with a soft smile. He grinned widely at her.

"Jade."

Jade made her way to where they were keeping Drago. The 'crutch' Kepler had given her worked well. It used some kind of technology to support her weight, allowing her to walk normally. As she came to the cell's door she frowned. She knew Section 13 had an unfortunate history with dragons. But that was no reason to lock Drago in a cell. It was little more than prejudice. She was not accusing Captain Black of racism, she knew better than that. However, she could not help but feel that the agents were judging Drago as a monster based on his appearance. She nodded as the guard to Drago's cell opened the locked door for her. When she stepped into the cell, she noticed something unsettling: a noticeable lack of dragon.

"Drago?" She called into the room. She heard a rustling from behind her followed by a light thump. She spun around to find the dragon inches from her. His sudden appearance caused her to scream. The guard attempted to open the door, only for Drago to lean against it. "Don't do that!" She said, pulling him from the door. The guard nearly fell to the floor when the door flew open. "Sorry, he scared me." She apologized to the man. She helped him up with a sheepish smile.

"Jade?" Drago said from behind her. She turned and gave him a level look.

"You need to learn English." She turned to the guard. "Can you bring me my laptop?" He shook his head as he stood outside the door once again.

"I can have someone bring it here if you want."

"Thanks." She smiled as he called for someone to bring the computer. "Now then, lesson one." She held her hand out to the dragon. "Come on, it's me. Jade." He met her gaze before taking her hand.

"Jade." He said, followed by a string of his semi-Chinese. She smiled as she led him to the small bed in his room. She guessed this counted as a first step towards friendship. And there is that old adage about a journey of a thousand miles.


	7. Agent: The Memmories 2

A/N: …Yeah…long delay is looooong. And all that. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Thirteen's Elite

Part 2: Agent

Theme: Psycho, by Puddle of Mudd

Chapter 7: The Memories 2

* * *

Drago was brought out of his thoughts by a blaring alarm. To anyone else in Solitary it might have been little more than an irritating buzz, but to his demonic senses it was crystal clear. He knew this alarm from his second time in a Section 13 cell. After he was trapped in the past that alarm would blare whenever the vault was broken into. He became…intimately familiar with that sound. When he had been recruited into the ranks of Section 13, the vault had rarely been broken into. And he always seemed to be sent offsite whenever that happened. Small wonder why that was, his family's tendency towards world domination. He would have kept himself as far away from the vault as possible if he were in charge. That is probably why they usually sent him after whoever broke into the fault. And why they normally paired him with Jade. He ground his teeth as he thought again of that last mission.

* * *

"And who might you be little miss?" The thief asked in an mockingly cheerful voice.

"Sorry, no names on the first date." She said with a smirk. "And I'm going to have to hit you extra hard for hurting my friend over there."

"Well, I may be curious as to why the son of Shendu is running around with a young chi witch, but I have more pressing matters concerning me." He raised the arm the Druk was wrapped around, firing several bolts at her. She used the Rooster Talisman to levitate herself to avoid the bolts and fling random objects at him.

"How do you know who he is?" She asked as she sent a trash can flying towards him. He almost lazily blasted with the Dragon Talisman, before striking her with a bolt from the Druk Dragon.

"Sorry, the would require a name. and what was it you said, no names on the first date?" He returned her earlier taunt as she fell to the ground limply. "Now it has been fun but I really must be going. So if you don't mind-"

"I do." A growling voice said from behind him The thief barely managed to avoid burning his face on the following burst of flame. His left arm caught the flame, his talismans being blasted off the specialized glove. "Now, I'd really like to hear how you know about me."

"Sorry, like I told your friend, I have somewhere to be." An orange glow spread from his burned hand to encompass his entire body. "Next time I'll reclaim my talisman. You can keep the dog and horse. But I may need to add you to my list Drago." And with a subtle click, he was gone. Drago glared at the air the thief had just left empty, before a lack of sarcasm drew his attention to Jade. He ran to her side and checked her over quickly. Once he was certain she was alive, he pulled his phone out and dialed Captain Black.

"Jade's down, we need help immediately." He barked into the phone as he cradled he head. He glanced to where the stolen talismans had fallen to ensure they had not vanished somehow. "The talismans have been recovered, but Jade was struck by lightening." He tossed the phone aside and held his partner to his chest. "Don't you dare die on me Chan. I am not taking care of Jackie by myself."

* * *

It had taken the 'official' agents of Section 13 several hours to reach Drago and Jade. The ride back to just as long and Drago's short temper regarding the medics only complicated the trip. When they arrived, the agents took Jade to the infirmary, leaving the dragon with the talismans. For the first time in a long time Drago realized he had never seen the Vault. He had spoken about it, even wondered what was inside it. But he had never actually considered going inside it. He felt a little harmless exploration, while returning the talismans of course, would serve as an excellent distraction from Jade's injuries. It was a more or less easy trip finding the vault, he simply took turns he had never followed before. Doing so he discovered a new set of offices and two bathrooms he had never seen before. Eventually he came to the Vault itself. He felt…unsettled by something he could not quite place. Something old, something wrong, something familiar. Something he had not felt in a very, very long time. His heart quickened as he placed his hand on the control panel. He released a brief spark of dark chi into the door. A trick he had learned from an old, hairy friend who loved to play jokes.

"Let's see what's so secret…" He wondered aloud, trying to drown out his heartbeat with his own voice. The door clanged violently as the locks disengaged. It slowly swung open, revealing the pedestal on which lay the talismans. He walked slowly into the chamber looking at the artifacts within. "All this power and he only took three talismans? What is he up to?"

"Drago…" An ancient, raspy voice echoed within the chamber. Drago felt an emotion that had become foreign to him over the years. Drago, the son of Shendu, was afraid. The young dragon froze unwilling to turn and face the owner of that voice. "Face me boy." The voice commanded, clearly seeing no reason Drago should refuse. Drago considered leaving. Going back the way he had come and asking Captain Black about the vault. Let someone else deal with what was here. Let himself return to the life he had grown accustomed to. There was no way Jade would keep this secret from him. "Face me!" Drago took a deep breath and turned towards the origin of the voice.


	8. Demon: The End and the Beginning

A/N: Typing at work = frustration at an unfamiliar keyboard. Also, I would like to apologize for the long, long, long overdue update.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Thirteen's Elite

Part 3: Demon

Theme: Limelight, by Rush

Chapter 9: The End and the Beginning

* * *

His claws tightened into fists, his breathing was forceful and uncontrolled. His heart was beating too fast to count, but he felt each beat distinctly. He forced his eyes open, feeling as though they were sealed shut. Before him, on the wall of the Vault, was a golden statue of a dragon. Not just any dragon though, this was a demon sorcerer, the master of fire. Drago's father. The same demon he had assumed banished with the rest of his family. Part of him reflected that the Chans never lied to him about his father. In fact, they all but refused to speak of him. Still, there was the spark of betrayal in finding his father like this. Sealed in stone, locked away in the same building Drago had lived in. Sealed away by the ones he had considered friends. Sealed in by the Chans. Perhaps the demon sorcerer sensed his son's mounting anger, perhaps even the nature of his thoughts. For it was not until Drago's rage was at the bursting point that Shendu spoke again.

"Calm yourself Drago. There is much work to be done." The young dragon met his father's petrified gaze. Countless questions filled his mind. Why was his father in the vault? Why was he a statue again? Why did the Chans lie to him? The last sent chills up Drago's spine. It led to a train of thought he wanted with all his half-demon heart not to consider. If Jackie and Uncle had lied to him, then…

"Jade." His entire being wanted to crumple up and fade away in that moment. To not feel the subtle ripping sensation he was filled with. Fire burned in his clenched fists, the heat threatening to set off the vault's alarm.

"Calm yourself boy! Or do you wish to waste your anger by bringing all of Section Thirteen down on yourself?" Drago opened his clenched eyes and glared at his father. "Do you feel it? The betrayal that comes from trusting humans?"

"What do you know about trust? You've never trusted anyone in your life!"

"Silence!" The very air shook with his father's anger. "I know the pain of having your trust shattered by a human. You know that as well as I do." Drago felt the anger and pain weaken against the sheer exhaustion brought on by the day's events. He wearily dropped to the floor next to the door. "Together we can take revenge on our enemies."

"Revenge?" He leaned his back against the wall, listening to the hum of the vault's security.

"We will destroy the Chans." His eyes slipped closed at that, seemingly at peace.

"No." The sorcerer seemed at a loss for words for a moment. Then the rage returned.

"What was that, boy?" He yelled furiously. Drago stood and made his way to the vault door.

"Maybe I can't trust them, but I can't trust you either. So until then, I'll take my chances with the humans." He paused to look back at his father. "I'm glad you're not dead."

"If they discover that you know I'm alive they will put you down like a dog!"

"Well, good to see you actually care Dad." With that, he slammed the vault door on his past.

* * *

Jade stood the moment the alarm sounded. She rushed out her door and made her way to the vault along with dozens of other agents. She tried to swallow her guilt, tried to put her mind in perspective. Yet her mind kept going back to when it all started. When everything involving _him_ was so simple, so easy.

* * *

"See this? This is a chinchilla." She said to the bored looking dragon while pointing to the furry creature on the screen. She was sitting on his bed while he lay next to her. She was attempting to find something to interest him so they could find some common ground. She clicked a random link, hoping it would be helpful. An image of the Chinese zodiac greeted their eyes. She felt the dragon tense beside her. He said something else in is bizarre, almost-Chinese. "What's wrong?" He tapped a clawed finger against the screen.

"Shendu." He said flatly, sending a cold shiver down her spine. She clicked to another site, hoping to ease the dragon's clearly troubled mind. They spent the next hour or so attempting to find some way to communicate with each other. A sharp knock on the door caught their attention. Jade looked up in time to see Captain Black enter the cell. He gave the scene a brief, flat look before sighing wearily. Drago stood and backed away from both humans, seemingly self-conscious.

"I guess we can consider this your first day on the job?" He gave the dragon a wary look. "Find anything out?" She bit her lip briefly before answering.

"He knows Shendu." The dragon glared at her when she said the demon's name. "I don't think they got along very well." Drago breathed out heavily, flames flicking briefly.

"Is he going to be a problem?" The captain watched passively as Drago paced the cell restlessly.

"Chinchilla?" Both humans looked at him in confusion. "Computer?"

"I thought he couldn't speak English."

"Well, I've been trying to teach for an hour. I consider two words a day a success." She sent the dragon a dazzling smile. Captain Black gave her a flat look. "What?"

"Maybe you could have tried Chinese? Something more along the lines of what he keeps spouting at us?" The dragon and the captain watched each other carefully.

"Drago." He said with his hand on his chest. "Jade." He said, pointing at her.

"Captain Black." He gestured to himself. The dragon frowned and pointed at him.

"Chinchilla."


End file.
